A Child's Nightmare

By Robert von Ranke Graves

Ballad
    Through long nursery nights he stood     By my bed unwearying,     Loomed gigantic, formless, queer,     Purring in my haunted ear     That same hideous nightmare thing,     Talking, as he lapped my blood,     In a voice cruel and flat,     Saying for ever, "Cat! ... Cat! ... Cat!..."     That one word was all he said,     That one word through all my sleep,     In monotonous mock despair.     Nonsense may be light as air,     But there's Nonsense that can keep     Horror bristling round the head,     When a voice cruel and flat     Says for ever, "Cat! ... Cat! ... Cat!..."     He had faded, he was gone     Years ago with Nursery Land     When he leapt on me again     From the clank of a night train,     Overpowered me foot and head,     Lapped my blood, while on and on     The old voice cruel and flat     Says for ever, "Cat!... Cat!... Cat!..."     Morphia drowsed, again I lay     In a crater by High Wood:     He was there with straddling legs,     Staring eyes as big as eggs,     Purring as he lapped my blood,     His black bulk darkening the day,     With a voice cruel and flat,     "Cat!... Cat!... Cat!..." he said,     "Cat!... Cat!..."     When I'm shot through heart and head,     And there's no choice but to die,     The last word I'll hear, no doubt,     Won't be "Charge!" or "Bomb them out!"     Nor the stretcher-bearer's cry,     "Let that body be, he's dead!"     But a voice cruel and flat     Saying for ever, "Cat!... Cat!... Cat!"

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
The poem is a visceral exploration of fear, trauma, and the haunting persistence of childhood nightmares into adult life, steeped in stark, vivid imagery. It employs a recurring motif – the ominous and insistent "Cat!... Cat!... Cat!" – that serves to underscore the relentless, inescapable nature of the speaker's terror. The poem's tone is one of suffocating dread and despair, with the cat serving as a symbol for an all-consuming, predatory fear that threatens to consume the speaker entirely.

The poem's structure, with its repeating lines and phrases, captures the cyclical nature of fear and trauma, and their tendency to intrude unbidden into the waking world. The use of monotonous repetition also serves to create a rhythm that is simultaneously lulling and unsettling, evoking the cadence of a nightmare from which the speaker cannot awake. Other notable literary devices include the use of powerful, disturbing imagery – the cat's "staring eyes as big as eggs," the speaker's blood being lapped – and the personification of the cat, which is endowed with an unsettling, almost human-like cruelty. In conclusion, this poem is a powerful and deeply unsettling exploration of fear and trauma, masterfully rendered through its evocative imagery, relentless rhythm, and haunting use of repetition.

Understanding Ballads

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music, that has been a cornerstone of storytelling across various cultures. Traditionally passed down orally, ballads are known for their rhythmic structure and often tell tales of love, adventure, and heroism.

Ballads are characterized by their strong rhythm and repetition, making them both memorable and engaging. Here are some defining features:

  • Narrative Structure: Ballads typically tell a story, often a dramatic or emotional tale that unfolds in a straightforward, chronological order.
  • Quatrain Stanzas: Most ballads are composed of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a rhyme scheme of ABAB or ABCB, which adds to the musicality of the verse.
  • Repetition: Refrains or repeated lines are common in ballads, helping to emphasize key themes or emotions and making the ballad easier to remember.
  • Oral Tradition: Many ballads originated from oral traditions, which means they were passed down through generations by word of mouth before being written down.

From medieval minstrels to contemporary songwriters, ballads have continued to evolve, remaining a beloved form of expression that captures the human experience in a way that is both poetic and accessible.